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SAN FRANCISCO - IBM Corp. put a top executive on leave yesterday after he was charged in an insider trading scandal for allegedly leaking secrets about IBM’s earnings and financial dealings with corporate partners.

The company said Robert Moffat, 53, a senior vice president who was considered a possible candidate to succeed CEO Sam Palmisano, no longer serves as an IBM officer. A woman who answered the phone at Moffat’s home said he would not comment.

Rodney Adkins, who has been senior vice president in charge of development and manufacturing, will fill Moffat’s position on an acting basis.

Moffat was one of six executives and hedge fund managers arrested Friday in connection with a scam that authorities say generated more than $25 million in illegal profits. The bust ensnared one of America’s wealthiest men, Raj Rajaratnam, a portfolio manager for the Galleon Group hedge fund; two people from another hedge fund; and figures from chip maker Intel Corp. and consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

The hedge fund defendants are accused of trading securities in several public companies based on confidential information they got from the executives.